"With regard to the right to freedom of association … legal opinion holds that freedom of association embraces, within a single term, a number of different components: (a) first, it means freedom for individuals to establish or join associations without being prevented from doing so by the authorities; hence, it is an individual freedom that is exercised collectively; (b) second, it means freedom for associations, once established, to carry out activities and to increase their resources; this right is exercised not by the association's individual members but by the group as a legal person separate from its components; in other words, it is not a right enjoyed by the members viewed as individuals but a freedom enjoyed by the group; (c) lastly, it means the freedom of the members of an association to oppose decisions taken internally by the group.
"En relación al derecho de libre asociación (…) se ha dicho en la doctrina que la libertad de asociación engloba, bajo una misma fórmula, numerosos caracteres distintivos: a) implica, en primer término, la libertad para los administrados de crear asociaciones, o de adherirse a ellas, sin que el poder público pueda impedir tal iniciativa. Se trata, por consiguiente, de una libertad individual que se ejercita colectivamente; b) en segundo lugar, implica la libertad para las asociaciones, una vez creadas, de realizar actividades y de acrecentar sus recursos. Esta facultad corresponde no a los miembros individuales que la integran, sino más bien al grupo en cuanto persona jurídica distinta de sus componentes.